Traffic humps could be used to slow vehicles in Wildomar neighborhoods if enough residents supported the devices, according to a policy recently approved by the City Council.

A majority of council members have endorsed a proposed Neighborhood Traffic Management Policy that includes a series of measures to combat traffic problems in residential areas and steps for putting the measures into effect.

Specific tools that could be used are speed display trailers that show drivers how fast they are going and warn them that they are over the speed limit; beefed-up police enforcement; pavement striping and speed-limit signs; and the speed humps.

Speed humps are sections of pavement raised a few inches above the surface, forcing a driver to slow the vehicle. The policy refers to it as the least preferred method and requires the most rigorous process to be put into effect.

“Speed humps aren’t the silver bullet to solving all problems, but they can be effective in certain situations,” Wildomar Public Works Director Tim D’Zmura told the council during a discussion of the issue earlier this month.

Councilwoman Marsha Swanson was the only one on the five-member panel to vote against the policy.

“I’m totally against any kind of bumps, humps or whatever you want to call them,” she said.

The other council members agreed, however, that there were enough safeguards in the policy to avoid the use of humps when they might pose a safety hazard or most neighbors didn’t want them.

Creation of the policy stems from complaints from residents concerned about speeding and heavy traffic in their neighborhoods, with Canyon Ranch Road being a particularly troublesome spot.

Residents who live along the street that runs between Bundy Canyon Road and Gafford Road circulated a petition signed by 40 residents that demanded the city install stop signs at Canyon Ranch’s intersections with Leaf Stock Trail and Tent Rock Trail.

City officials warned that without strict enforcement, the signs might not accomplish much, but offered to look into the idea of using speed humps, which is what some of the residents initially had requested.

“We’ve been trying to get something done about this problem in excess of 2 ½ years,” Canyon Ranch Road resident Ron Borgeson told the council. “So, I’m really happy that this finally has come to fruition.”

Barbara Marquez talks with her son Chuy, 4, in the front yard of their home on Canyon Ranch Road in Wildomar. "I don't think the speed limit sign does anything," she said. "I think they need to put in stop signs."
— Bill Wechter

Barbara Marquez talks with her son Chuy, 4, in the front yard of their home on Canyon Ranch Road in Wildomar. "I don't think the speed limit sign does anything," she said. "I think they need to put in stop signs."
— Bill Wechter

D’Zmura said that according to studies, raised areas that reach 3 to 3 ½ inches and stretch about 12 feet across the street lane slow vehicles to average crossing speeds of 15 mph to 20 mph.

However, they also could create rough rides for disabled drivers, slow emergency vehicles and buses, and increase noise for residents who live near them.

According to the city’s new policy, the use of humps would be limited to two-lane residential streets with a speed limit of 30 mph or less; a minimum of 750 feet between traffic controls; and volumes of 500 to 4,000 vehicles per day. A traffic study would have to show drivers are traveling an average of 5 mph or more over the speed limit.

A minimum of 10 households from a street would have to support the installation and the fire department would have to sign off on it.

Wildomar Fire Chief Steve Beach said that because of the provisions built into the policy, he supported it. He said the kind of bumps the city would allow would not be as bothersome as those found at some locales.

“Everybody has been to those Albertsons shopping centers where driving over a traffic hump nearly blows your windshield out,” he said.